Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Planning a War in Space

Air Force Space
Command's Schriever Wargame recently concluded at Schriever AFB, Colorado. Set
in the year 2026, this wargame, named in honor of retired Gen. Bernard A.
Schriever, explored critical space and cyberspace issues in depth and
investigated the military utility of emerging space systems and cyberspace
capabilities.

The objectives of the wargame included: 1) Explore and
assess the resilience of a future architecture in a contested, degraded, and
operationally limited environment, 2) Identify processes; concepts of operations
(CONOPS); and opportunities for tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs)
development within a future architecture to improve defense and mutual support
of all elements of National Security Space, and 3) Examine how future
anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) force structures will affect requirements
for Air Force space operations and services.

Although the details of the
scenario remain classified, the game stressed space and cyberspace planning and
deterrence in the context of a future regional conflict. This wargame built on
the challenges associated with U.S. and allied space systems featured during
previous wargame iterations.

In addition, this year's game highlighted
the resilience of a future space architecture that incorporated characteristics
of increased flexibility, maneuverability, and situational awareness, as well as
the crucial role that U.S. allies and the commercial sector play in space and
cyberspace capabilities.

"As a wargame, Schriever 2014 looked at future
battle management and command and control systems to provide the commander of
U.S. space forces with a warfighting capability," said Lt. Gen. Jay Raymond, the
Commander of Joint Functional Component Command for Space and 14th Air Force.
"Key take-aways from the game include the importance of multi-domain awareness
and integration, the warfighting value of our allies, and the operational
contributions of commercial space."

The wargame highlighted the
possibility to increase resilience through changes in space architectures,
innovative tactics, effective command and control, and shared responsibilities
across commercial and allied partners.

As the wargame unfolded, a
regional crisis quickly escalated, partly because of the interconnectedness of a
multi-domain fight involving a capable adversary. The wargame participants
emphasized the challenges in containing horizontal escalation once space control
capabilities are employed to achieve limited national
objectives.

Approximately 175 military and civilian experts from
government agencies around the U.S, as well as Australia, Canada, and the United
Kingdom participated in the wargame.

Agencies included: Office of the
Secretary of Defense, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Pacific Command,
U.S. Strategic Command, Headquarters Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Pacific
Air Forces, Air Combat Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Office
of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval Research Laboratory, Naval War College,
the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA, and the intelligence community.
Various commercial entities including Intelsat, Inmarsat, DigitalGlobe, Astrium
and SSL Federal participated as well to facilitate the wargame.